Mondo Knows Facts
Some colours come from structure, not pigment
Tiny repeating shapes in feathers and shells reflect certain wavelengths by interference The blue of a peacock feather or a morpho butterfly wing comes from microscopic layers and ridges that scatter and cancel specific wavelengths. No pigment is involved, so the effect depends on the viewing angle. Structural colour does not fade in sunlight the way many dyes do. It sits in Mondo's science collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.
Where this comes from
Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.
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Tags: colour, optics, nature
Some colours come from structure, not pigment: the short answers
- Where does this come from, and can I check it?
- Tiny repeating shapes in feathers and shells reflect certain wavelengths by interference. The figure is taken from Nature, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
- Is this really a science fact?
- Yes. It sits on the Science shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
- What else can I read about it?
- The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.